A Motherwell man has admitted threatening to burn his wife’s face with a hot iron after an argument over a mobile phone.

Nadeem Asghar Ali, of the town’s Aurelia Court, grabbed wife Aasma’s face and pinned her to a table before holding the red-hot iron “inches” from the mother-of-two’s cheek.

The 33-year-old was arguing with his wife after not being able to find his mobile phone on May 12 earlier this year.

Mrs Nadeem told Hamilton Sheriff Court: “He was looking for his phone and asked me where it was. I said I didn’t know and he got a bit angry about not being able to find it.”

The 30-year-old said her husband repeatedly asked her where his phone was as the argument continued.

However, she told Fiscal Depute Sarah McCall that she could not remember anything that happened thereafter, only conceding that she felt “scared and unsafe” because of the way her husband was behaving.

McCall then put Mrs Nadeem’s original police statement to her.

It read: “He used his right hand and grabbed my face. His thumb was on my right cheek and his fingers were in my mouth.

“He pushed me back on to a table I was doing my ironing on. The iron I was using for my ironing was on the table and it was switched on. It was hot. He then put the hot bit of the iron near to my right cheek. I could feel the heat.

“He held it about two-inches from my cheek and said: ‘You’re going to tell me or I will burn your face.’”

Mrs Nadeem then confirmed to the court that she did provide that statement to Strathclyde Police officers and that it was true.

She then added that she ran to her bathroom after the incident and immediately called the police on her mobile phone.

After adjourning for lunch last Wednesday, Mr Nadeem altered his plea to guilty.